Chris Cantell Discusses World News: Hundreds of people missing after ferry disaster by Zuzana Zelenakova

The typhoon Fengshen that hit central Philippines on Friday not only brought destruction over the archipelago but also caused a ferry disaster and left hundreds of passengers missing. The cruise on the ferry called Princess of Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines turned out to be a nightmare. So far only 28 people made it to the shore after spending more than one day at sea drifting. They were 20 male passangers, four women and four crewmen. They were swept ashore late Sunday in Mulanay in province Quenzon. The princess of Stars carried on board the total number of 724 passengers and 121 crew. It is said that many people were not able to leave the ship in time. Those who did got to the life-rafts but these were significantly crowded and sank in cold stormy waters 3 km from Sibuyan island in the centre of the archipelago. â€Å“Many of us jumped, the waves were so huge, and the rains were heavy,â€Â told one of the survivors. â€Å“There was just one announcement over the megaphone, about 30 minutes before the ship tilted to its side.â€ÂThat was around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. â€Å“Immediately after I jumped, the ship tilted, the older people were left on the ship.â€Â The ship was on its way from Manila to the city of Cebu where many of relatives of the missing gathered to wait for the news hoping for a miracle. The coastguard was searching the waters around the 24,000 ton ferry of which only its bow is above the waves and trying to confirm reports that some passengers made it to a small island. Typhoon Fengshen that reached the maximum speed of 195 kph killed more than 150 people in central and southern Philippines. In average, the Philippines are crashed into by 20 typhoons a year.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/philippines_typhoon;_ylt=Al1EFCU6sylKT7p2OJqldPWs0NUE

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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